Keeping warm

[Pulcinella]

Keep your neck warm.

That extra string of pearls has made all the difference.


Seriously, though, the neck sleeves (I'm sure there's a proper term) that Rohan and other outdoor shops sell are very good indeed.

[Bryn]

That extra string of pearls has made all the difference.


Seriously, though, the neck sleeves (I'm sure there's a proper term) that Rohan and other outdoor shops sell are very good indeed.

Scarves work petty well, too.

At the beginning of the Sars-Cov2 pandemic, I bought a couple of fabric motorcycle face masks (before 'disposable' surgical masks proliferated in the shops. They should be ideal for keeping the nose warm in cold weather, though they do not offer much protection against air-born pathogens. Their perforations to allow air to pass through are just that bit too large for that particular job for which they were not designed.

[oddoneout]

That extra string of pearls has made all the difference.


Seriously, though, the neck sleeves (I'm sure there's a proper term) that Rohan and other outdoor shops sell are very good indeed.

Apparently they are called buffs, which has connotations I am not altogether comfortable with... In knitting circles they are called cowls, with modern versions being rather looser and more scarf like than the older more functional sort. They have the advantage of fulfilling the same gap closing function but without having the added bulk of the ends that a scarf has if tucked in or the flapping if left outside a jacket. I found one in a charity shop that has proved very useful for gardening as it stays put instead of working itself loose as a scarf tends to with all the bending.
Through my charity shop habit I now have several Heatech/technical fabric long-sleeved tops which I have found very good, although they do take longer to dry after washing than I had expected. They are very thin so lend themselves to layering under woollen jumpers(also good collection, including cashmere, from charity shops) without adding bulk, and are a good length so stay tucked in. For everyday purposes indoors a waistcoat, some sort of scarf/shoulder covering, socks and if necessary(arthritis playing up) fingerless gloves and/or wristwarmers. As far as possible I choose wool for such outer layers as I find it warmer than artificial alternatives.
The other thing I find I need to do indoors is to move regularly to get the circulation going otherwise sitting still for too long alters the perception of ambient temperature. As it happens, these days I get a "reminder" to do this as my back seizes up and becomes even more painful with prolonged inactivity in one position!

[Pulcinella]

...
That extra string of pearls has made all the difference.
...

I misremembered.
The line comes from Alan Bennett's Forty Years On.

Lady Dundown (aka Tempest): Dear me. How cold it has turned. I must go in and put on another rope of pearls.

[Serial_Apologist]

Apparently they are called buffs, which has connotations I am not altogether comfortable with... In knitting circles they are called cowls, with modern versions being rather looser and more scarf like than the older more functional sort.

You could call them instant turtle necks or roll necks, too!

[Mal]

Masks?

[Dave2002]

Went to Cineworld yesterday to see the Met’s La Traviata*. I was told that some people are getting the £9.99 Cineworld unlimited monthly offer and watching 3 films a day. Providing you can stand the loud soundtrack and the films themselves this strikes me as just about the cheapest way (33p per day ) of keeping warm once the libraries are closed.

* very well sung.

What are you suppposed to do when the cinema closes? In Stockholm there used to be people who stayed on the buses all night.

[Ein Heldenleben]

What are you suppposed to do when the cinema closes? In Stockholm there used to be people who stayed on the buses all night.

The current idea is to read a novel on the Circle Line, particularly handy if you are entitled to a free bus / Tube pass . The regional equivalent is selecting the longest free bus ride in your city and going backward and forward all day. Also popular surfing the net in the local library or wangling a pass to the local university library . There also nursing an Americano for three hours in Costa. Very popular , even pre lockdown, was running your entire business from the large foyer at the Royal Festival Hall. I even saw some one running a small language class on one of those side tables near the stalls entrance.

[Petrushka]

Waitrose have today re-started their free coffee offer to card holders for the first time since the pandemic. I went down this morning, bought a few things I'd get anyway and sat downstairs for an hour reading a book. I'll go for a walk soon so I've saved around three hours or so in total of having no heating on at home.

I was doing this pre-pandemic but it's good to start saving on the heating again. However, the coffee isn't very good so I'll probably take my own next time.

[oddoneout]

What are you suppposed to do when the cinema closes? In Stockholm there used to be people who stayed on the buses all night.

This came up earlier this year https://www.theguardian.com/business...nadequate-help
Riding the buses has its limitations in this part of the world, even with a bus pass. You'd need to be clued up about the timetables to avoid ending up in the middle of nowhere with no return option, especially for services that are contracted out to local coach companies, some are specifically shopping buses, and the end of the tourist season removes many from the schedules.
Libraries here were already doing their bit last winter and are set to do so again this year. As things stand at the moment that means the town library will become even more difficult to use as a library, because during covid working the top floor was shut off and then once restrictions were lifted was used (part-time) for literacy and numeracy classes not returned to library use. The idea that the second busiest library in the county should have its capacity cut by half didn't make sense at the time and has seen usage reduce as what's left for adults is cramped dark and uninviting, with little space for sitting and reading. At the end of this month it will be closed for some internal alterations, but whether that means re-opening the first floor no-one seems to know.
Three of the churches open for drinks and socialising on market day once a week, but as elsewhere any sort of community space is struggling to keep going with the cost of energy gone through the roof for non-domestic customers. There is a large 'spoons in town but how they would view one coffee to stay all day I don't know! Ditto Morrisons cafe.

[oddoneout]

Waitrose have today re-started their free coffee offer to card holders for the first time since the pandemic. I went down this morning, bought a few things I'd get anyway and sat downstairs for an hour reading a book. I'll go for a walk soon so I've saved around three hours or so in total of having no heating on at home.

I was doing this pre-pandemic but it's good to start saving on the heating again. However, the coffee isn't very good so I'll probably take my own next time.

Can you do that? I haven't been to Waitrose for some time (it's a 25 mile roundtrip), but when I was last there they were quite clear that the cafe space was for those who'd bought their drinks from there.

[Serial_Apologist]

Can you do that? I haven't been to Waitrose for some time (it's a 25 mile roundtrip), but when I was last there they were quite clear that the cafe space was for those who'd bought their drinks from there.

And of course sitting before a cup of coffee that has gone cold isn't for a lot of people who don't enjoy cold coffee. Dawdling over one's supermarket shopping, normally something I would regard as time-wasting, did prove worthwhile for the aircon during the heatwave this summer, and would be available for the opposite purpose! Mal (above) has asked about masks, and somebody was suggesting these as a means of keeping the nose warm - which for me is very important as a cold nose keeps me awake. This way one can be ones own internally generated fan heater just for the face! I have stored a whole packetful of masks from Covid.

[Bryn]

And of course sitting before a cup of coffee that has gone cold isn't for a lot of people who don't enjoy cold coffee. Dawdling over one's supermarket shopping, normally something I would regard as time-wasting, did prove worthwhile for the aircon during the heatwave this summer, and would be available for the opposite purpose! Mal (above) has asked about masks, and somebody was suggesting these as a means of keeping the nose warm - which for me is very important as a cold nose keeps me awake. This way one can be ones own internally generated fan heater just for the face! I have stored a whole packetful of masks from Covid.

A cold nose is a gateway to some airborne viral infections. See, for instance https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30685732 or https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1411030112 as linked to therein.

[Serial_Apologist]

A cold nose is a gateway to some airborne viral infections. See, for instance https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30685732 or https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1411030112 as linked to therein.

Thanks Bryn. Interesting.

[Petrushka]

Can you do that? I haven't been to Waitrose for some time (it's a 25 mile roundtrip), but when I was last there they were quite clear that the cafe space was for those who'd bought their drinks from there.

The space downstairs in our local Waitrose isn't the cafe, which is upstairs in the main shop. Downstairs is where the travelator and lifts are located. Waitrose have always had a number of tables and chairs there and, theoretically, there's no reason why you can't sit there all day. People often sit there reading or socialising over a cup of coffee, though it can get very noisy as staff move the trollies.